Samsung Expects To Begin 10 nm Node Production By 2016

Samsung’s plans for domination are looking highly ambitious. After refusing to incorporate Snapdragon 810 in its flagship duo and choosing to produce its own custom core, not to mention that the next SoC present in Galaxy Note 5 is reported to be Exynos 7422, 10 nm node production is the next objective that Samsung intends on completing. The production of 10 nm chips are expected to commence by 2016 and while the company might be leading from the front with its superior 14 nm FinFET process, TSMC has set its eyes to overtake Samsung in the 10 nm production race.

10 nm To Be Used In Flagship Products; Might Pave The Way For 14 and 16 nm To Be Placed In Affordable Devices

According to Fudzilla, Samsung has stated that the next generation node is expected to be in full production by the end of next year. Unfortunately, the company did not care to comment on additional details concerning. TSMC, which plans to take the lead with 10 nm chip production as well, has been more open about its plans, stating that the firm will commence shipment of 10 nm chips by 2016, followed by 7 nm ones by 2017. TSMC has not provided an exact timeline, but it is possible that the shipment process will begin sometime during the later months of 2016.

As for Samsung and its 14 nm FinFET process, the company already has four foundries, out of which two are placed in South Korea, and the remaining two in the United States. GlobalFoundries has also gained access to 14 nm FinFET, thanks to the partnership with Samsung. The rise of these four foundries is most likely to curb the supply and demand disparity arising by manufacturing chips for both Qualcomm and Apple, whose upcoming SoCs are going to be processed on this particular architecture.

Eventually, 14 nm FinFET is going to be replaced by the 10 nm process, and the primary question that pops in our heads is that will affordable mobile devices start to sport 14 and 16 nm chips, rather than the 28 nm ones? It is possible, but the answer to this question can only be given in the future, when mass production of 10 nm chips actually begins.